No, I didn’t make a mistake when I scanned this page… this is part one of a two-page spread. Which is sideways. I know. It’s a bit of an experiment, and it’s even more awkward than the last time I tried a two-page spread.

Not a big fan of this two-page-spread format for an online webcomic. If it was a book I could just twist the thing sideways, read it, put the book back the way it’s supposed to be, and move on. Here it is just unpleasant… made worse by the lack of half the page due to the update schedule. :/

I’ve been reading your comic from the paper edition (long ago) and even if I try to continue enjoying the comic, I must say that I miss very much the printed comic. This page is the example of the very odd things having a webcomic-but-also-thinking-in-a-printed-version can produce. Is very difficult to read a comic like this (and I recognize I am very reluctant about comics designed to read in a computer or a celphone), having to wait a week to see the other part of the spread, etc. I think that you should reconsider the idea of doing a webcomic (only) or a printed comic (only), so you can plan your pages to match one of the media, because trying to do it in both at the same time is really odd (as this page and other before have demonstrated). Moreover, we have to wait years to see the printed version, that being specially “painful” for me (at least) being a former reader of the printed comic and having now two volumes of the webcomic that hjave gone in print and yet not arrived to the point of the story you left it when the old printed comic went away.
I understand you cannot commit to do more pages in less time because you have other occupations, but in that case wouldn’t it be better to plan the pages only for the webcomic? You can publish them after in printed version, but I think that planning pages for a printed version while publishing them in the web, and people seen the printed version years after is no good for the reades nor for your comic.
I hope I don’t sound too “bitter” here, but this is what I think, even if I like very much your comic (specially the printed one!).

Nonsense. Personally, I wouldn’t have discovered Galaxion if it wasn’t online. Now I’m planning to buy books 1 & 2 as soon as I can navigate the current rapids in my life, which is a transition that should lead to actually having some room for printed versions of webcomics that I’ve been enjoying the past three years since I discovered webcomics.

I’m OK with you disagreeing with me, but I’m not OK with saying my comment is “nonsense”. The fact that you think or experience things differently from others do not imply that you are right and the others are nonsensical…

Fair point, Gabriel. But I’m still going to stand up for Tara doing it the way she wants. The great thing about webcomics is that an artist can build up an audience waiting to shell out money for the print edition, which is waaaay easier than coming up with a print version and then trying to find an audience for it. Galaxion is one of several webcomics that I’ll be picking up the print versions of when I can.

I do not think doing this particular thing works very well. The other 2-page spread worked much better for 2 major reasons: 1) Each half of the page was more or less a complete chunk of the storyline (whereas with this, it is very clearly missing chunks). 2) It was not horizontal. While I appreciate what you’re doing and DO think it’s fine to attempt this kind of thing with a webcomic once in a while, next time I would suggest simply waiting and posting the entire thing at once to avoid neck cramps if nothing else. I would be willing to put up with a “you get 2 pages next week!” note to see everything at once. (Because I will be re-reading this page next week anyway….)

Will it be an elegant and finely-crafted link? (Let’s see who knows where I lifted that reference from.)

I like the experimentation. It leaves us with a different kind of cliffhanger, but I like that you’re thinking and trying to improve your craft.

We’re getting some insight into Aria and Zan with a look at their pasts, and I’ll hazard a guess this is going to lead to the realization that “Hey! We can read each other’s thoughts!” and all its attendant complications beyond providing another insight into the Miesti.

Yep. Same here — it’s been a few years, but I think I came here from a GG link as well and got hooked. I like her approach to her characters (as explained in the FAQ), and her characterizations, her writing and her art have kept me coming back. It’s high up on my must-read list.

Except that the GG sideways page spreads are just to fit the art in, not to “visually imply a new level of disorientation”. I wonder if the readers of the print version will see that impl,ication or just think it is a way to fit in the art (like GG).

I note that the writing on the previous page turned sideways in the last panel, as a sort of lead in to this 2 page spread. I also wonder if that will make it easier to follow in the print version.

I appreciate all your thoughts about this page (or, page-so-far)! As it happens, I do consider Galaxion’s final form to be a print version, and the webcomic is a means of promotion until such time as it’s finished. The good news is, this chapter is going into Book 3, so these 2-page-spreads will be available in print form in the spring. I’ll have to wait to see it in print before I decide whether this sideways thing– attempting to visually imply a new level of disorientation, in other words– is worth the trouble. (And it certainly is far more trouble for me to create these than a regular page.) Heck, I never even attempted a 2-page-spread back when I was just doing those print issues! What was I thinking?

If I ever have call to do this again, I will just post it as a single update. I promise.

Yes, this kinda “hurt”. I do understand your need to push your art and style. This is certainly a good experiment, though the result does leave some to be desired. (Not much, but some.) Please continue!

Tara – I will have to agree with several others that the sideways page isn’t really working too well for me. I don’t have an IPad. Try turning a desk monitor sideway! Like Oarboar I am a fan of the Folio’s Elegant and Finely Crafted Links, I think you are better off showing the comic in a vertical orientation.

I disagree with reader Gabriel, as I believe we are finally up to the point where we left the cast in the original series – Aria and Zan passed out while on the run. Now that I don’t have to worry about inadvertent spoilers any more it’s interesting to mull over how the storyline has changed from the original series.

This time there was a lot more exposition on the ship before getting to the main action on the planet. It did help fill in a lot of character backstory though, I will be frank, I found that it dragged somewhat. The first really noticable deviation from the original storyline was the survival of Patty. If I recall correctly, the original never showed her squashing the butterfly though I do remember Aria later saying that “Patty behaved very unPatty-like”. There never seemed to be any explanation for the lethal attack on Patty the first time except as cannon fodder for the other characters to emote over. Her present survival allowed much more dramatic tension in the story as the deterioration in Patty’s condition lets the reader increasingly realize that something is very wrong indeed.

This time around the interrogation of Aria is undertaken by the Miesti directly instead of by the Rautani. We find out a bit more about how the Miesti in the bargain. Again, in the original the Miesti seemed more misunderstood than anything but in this version the dread and bitterness of Vanguathe and his people is understandable. What is still not explained is why Aria and Zan found it so easy to escape. After all, the Miesti/Rautani have taken scores of prisoners over the years. So perhaps the Great Escape wasn’t so great after all, since it is obvious the pair are under observation.

In short, I like the way that you have developed and matured as a storyteller over the years. Now, at last, I look forward to seeing the story progress!

cookie: for those who don’t have an iPad, Tara did provide a link to a vertical version of the page. I realize that many people didn’t see the link until they had read the page sideways though. (Sort of like my not seeing the glossary at the back of A Clockwork Orange until I had finished the book.)

Would it be better to print any future pages like this vertically online with a note saying that they will appear horizontally in print and a link to a horizontal “print” version?

Tara – we understand that the print version is what you are primarily aiming for. The website is great for publicity. Like Oarboar, I would never have found Galaxion if it was not online. I’m now the proud owner of Volumes 1 & 2 and cannot wait for Volume 3. The story-telling is good and the art is gorgeous. The sideways page is an interesting experiment. I cannot recall another artist who forces the reader to turn the book. It does push the reader out of their comfort zone, but then so did the swirly hair borders, which were effective in conveying Aria’s confusion and muddle-headedness. For the online version, I think you’ll need to turn the sideways 2-page spread the right way up at sqrt(2) reduction and have a link to a full-sized image.